how to be happy in life

How to be happy in life is a popular question, one that has generated countless of volumes, with many more to follow. This article is my tiny contribution to this quest, my personal angle on it. I too strive for happiness in my life, sometimes succeeding while other times attempting to learn from the mistakes I make.

First, what is happiness? Happiness is a concept that means a whole lot of different things to different people. Everyone has their own ideas about what it is that makes them happy. But remove the conditions that make you feel happy, and fundamentally happiness is but a state of mind.

To look at it in a different way, let’s examine what makes for a good meal. You’re looking forward to a delicious dish. You’ve been anticipating it, and finally now you’re ready to eat. You are experiencing all of these wonderful taste sensations in your mouth. You’re really enjoying the food.

But stop, let’s break it down. What are you really enjoying right at this moment? Is it the smells, textures and flavors of the food? No, not at all. The sensations you’re experiencing are not in the food! They are taking place in your own body.

That’s right, everything you are experiencing is happening within you. This applies to, well… everything. All that you see, touch, hear, taste, etc. all of it, are your own body’s reaction to the external world. The world that’s outside of you.

Physically, as your senses are engaged, the nerves in your body send messages to your brain. Your brain then performs million of functions to decide how it will react to what’s going on. Are the nerves sensing pain? Pleasure? The brain tells your body to react accordingly.

Emotionally, the brain searches for the past memories pertaining to those signals for reference. What happened the last time the body felt this sensation? Did it end up feeling good or bad? Much of this process is conditioned by your personal experiences and your taste.

So how, do you ask does all this pertain to being happy? Well, I’ll tell you. You experience life, based on your unique perception. Your own point of view, if you will. After all, what may taste good to you, may taste horrible to someone else. It’s a highly personal experience.

We can say that perception is everything. Things are the way we believe them to be. This is a very interesting concept. In fact, it is a potentially life changing one. So if it is our perception that dictates the way we feel, we should be able to change the way we feel, by changing our perception.

Perception is our outward experience based on the five senses. It is a process for attaining awareness of our environment. Our outward perspective on life. If you are currently unhappy in some of the facets of your life, rather than changing your life, consider changing your perception, your attitude, your outlook.

Happiness is an illusive entity. It may be just outside your reach. Close by, yet out of your sight. Imagine yourself standing next to a pillar. The happiness is standing right behind the pillar. Even though you’re next to it, you are unable to see it from where you’re standing.

Change the angle of your perception, by taking a single step aside. Thus bringing the happiness into your view. It can be as simple as that. I can not tell you specifically how you should do it in your unique situation. Everyone is living a different life.

In my own life, I’ve had countless examples when a shift in my own perception greatly improved the state of my happiness, and the outcome of events. Often a small change is enough to get the desired result. It‘s a wonderful reminder that much of what’s affecting us is actually our own perception, which is subject to our will.

By applying the principles of change in perception, you have a starting point to find the happiness in your life. Find it by shifting your own attitude, your own outlook, and how you interact with others around you. Be happy to be alive. Enjoy, and learn from the experience.

2 Responses to how to be happy in life

haha you would know that I have definitely changed perceptions about life itself. work and career and all. what is happiness for us at one point in time might change. i didn’t catch on to the change till later, but now adjusting
we can be happy anywhere anytime, we just need to choose to!
Noch Noch